Tag: World Health Organisation

WHO declares monkey pox an international public health emergency

Aminu Imam

The World Health Organisation, (WHO), yesterday declared monkey pox a public health emergency of international concern, a designation reserved for the most serious global disease outbreaks. That puts monkey pox on the same list as six other outbreaks with the same WHO label since 2007: Covid-19, Zika, H1N1 flu, polio and Ebola, which has been designated an emergency twice. WHO Director-General, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, made the decision to issue the declaration despite a lack of consensus among experts serving on the U.N. health agency’s emergency committee. It was the first…

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WHO endorses ‘groundbreaking’ malaria vaccine for Africa

Aminu Imam

The World Health Organisation, (WHO), says the only approved vaccine against malaria should be widely given to African children, potentially marking a major advance against a disease that kills hundreds of thousands of people annually. According to Reuters, the WHO recommendation is for RTSS – or Mosquirix – a vaccine developed by British drugmaker GlaxoSmithKline (GSK.L). Since 2019, 2.3 million doses of Mosquirix have been administered to infants in Ghana, Kenya and Malawi in a large-scale pilot programme coordinated by the WHO. The majority of those whom the disease kills…

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WHO ranks Nigeria 4th best in Covid-19 response

Aminu Imam

The World Health Organisation, (WHO), has ranked Nigeria’s Covid-19 response as the fourth-best in the world. WHO’s Country Representative, Dr. Walter Mulombo, disclosed this during an event marking the arrival of the first consignment of 177,600 doses of the Johnson and Johnson (J&J) Covid-19 vaccine yesterday in Abuja. It said at least 1,173,132 doses of the vaccine, part of the 29.8 million doses procured by the Federal Government through the African Export-Import Bank, will arrive this month. According to Mulombo, “We are witnessing the symbolic arrival of 177,600 Johnson &…

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Covid-19 deaths in Africa surge more than 40% over previous week – WHO

Aminu Imam

Covid-19 mortality has increased by 43% week on week in Africa, as hospital admissions climb rapidly and governments face oxygen and intensive care bed shortages. The number of deaths increased to 6273 in the week ending July 11, up from 4384 the week before. Africa is now only a fraction of a percent below the weekly high of 6294 deaths set in January. Namibia, South Africa, Tunisia, Uganda, and Zambia accounted for 83% of all new deaths in the previous week. The continent’s case fatality rate, which is the percentage…

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Unsafe drinking water puts children in Nigeria, Chad, others at risk – WHO D-G

Aminu Imam

Nigeria, as well as other countries in the sub-Saharan Africa, have continued to suffer from poor access to safe drinking water, sanitation facilities. The development, according to the World Health Organisation, (WHO), has led to the spread of diseases in the region. According to its latest report, only 54 percent of people in the region have access to safe drinking water. The report said if the current trends persist, billions of children and families will be left vulnerable by 2030. The report lamented the inequalities in the region, adding that…

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Nigeria not disqualified from accessing Covid-19 vaccines — WHO

Aminu Imam

Contrary to reports, Nigeria has not been disqualified from accessing Covid-19 vaccines from the COVAX facility. Clarifying the position in Abuja on Saturday at an emergency press briefing called by the National Primary Healthcare Development, Agency, NPHCDA, the World Health Organisation, WHO, country representative in Nigeria said the agency has not disqualified any country from accessing vaccines from the facility. The WHO said, on the contrary, it was assisting Nigeria and other African countries to start accessing the Astrazeneca vaccine as from February, as soon as it received clearance for…

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Nigeria may spend N540bn on Covid-19 vaccines – Report

Aminu Imam

It has been revealed that Nigeria may spend close to N540 billion to get the Covid-19 vaccines. According to reports, Nigeria may spend the huge sum to procure and distribute 218,400,000 doses of COVID-19 vaccines. The figure is based on estimates of the World Health Organisation, (WHO), as regards the total amount of funds that Africa would need to pursue a vaccination drive. According to the WHO, Africa will need at least $9bn (N3.4trillion) to procure and distribute 1.4 billion doses of COVID-19 vaccines. This development comes as Lagos State…

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